


waiting (always waiting)

by chevrefoil



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Short, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts III, still in my feelings tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 00:42:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17652737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chevrefoil/pseuds/chevrefoil
Summary: the last farewells at the keyblade graveyard.





	1. the gambler of fate

**Author's Note:**

> this game hurted 😔
> 
> title taken from honest by the neighbourhood

luxord hadn’t truly expected to triumph over sora and his companions. still, a part of him had believed that this time—this time, with the boon that xemnas has given him—he, marluxia, and larxene could eke out a victory. it didn’t matter, really; he had wagered against the light and been dealt this particularly unlucky hand as a result.

he chuckles lightly to himself. twice now he’s lost, but such was the way of the game. he didn’t expect nor desire any of the pity that he could see in sora’s bright eyes.  _i knew what i was getting into_ , he wanted to say, but he wasn’t really one for those kind of flimsy excuses and was equally sure sora would not care one bit about such an attempt to assuage his concern. instead, he flicks one of his cards towards the young man.

he deserved a reward for playing the game so well.

“think of it as a wild card,” he says as sora grabs it out of the air.

sora turns the card front and back a few times, no doubt searching for a clue as to its importance. finding nothing, he glances back at luxord with a curious expression on his face. “a wild card?”

luxord nods. ”it could turn the tables one day.”

a non-answer, but that was all he would reveal. a magician never reveals their tricks, or something akin to that. when he needed it, luxord hoped it would prove to be the assist he needed it to be. maybe he wouldn’t need it at all—but it would be better than having no cards up one’s sleeve at a critical moment.

luxord could feel the pull of xehanort on his very essence as he began to fade. a pity he would not be able to see the old man’s whims come to fruition—or something close to it. in the end, it seemed, he would never truly understand what it was about kingdom hearts that had the man so enamored with it. then again, gamblers did not need a real reason to continue to play if the possibility of victory was seemingly far too close to give up.

“we should play sometime,” sora says, holding the card up, “when you’re human again.”

the boy had gone through far too much at his and the others’ hands to even think of suggesting that. luxord can’t help but shake his head in slight disbelief; it still amazed him to see how bright the light within him shone even at a time like this. such optimism even in the face of adversity...

it would do him good to play. it would be one where life and death, light and darkness, had no stake at the table. it’s been such a long time since he had that opportunity. it would simply be a fair game, one he would certainly look forward to once all of this was over and he was whole again. 

“yes, we should,” luxord says, smiling. “i’d like that.”


	2. the savage nymph

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me firing these off bc i don’t want to overthink them lol

“i can’t believe i lost to you losers, _again,_ ” she fumes. her knives slip from between her fingers and disappear, swallowed by nothingness before they can hit the ground. larxene grimaces as the familiar sensation of fading away hits her. twice now she’s been sent back into the void and it didn’t get any easier to experience. still, this was _way_ better than being subject xehanort’s whims. 

“i’d rather lose to you than be his vessel,” she says, gesturing in the direction of where xehanort was. she couldn’t exactly see him over the high walls of the labyrinth, but she could sense him watching as he observed his little ‘war’ continue. larxene had the inkling of an idea that her and the other’s elimination meant nothing in the long run; xehanort was freakishly obsessed with creating the x-blade and all that. as long as that happened, he could care less about the condition of his walking heart containers.

none of this had actually _been_ for him, anyway. yeah, larxene had done what he'd ask her to—go to arendelle and secure the new seven hearts just in case they would be needed. well, they hadn't been and she had been forced to suffer in the cold as boy wonder and his merry friends frolicked about. she would deal with the fact that she had to work alongside individuals she'd very much desired to never see again if at all possible or live with the knowledge xehanort was using them to fulfill his ridiculous goal. if it had been up to her, she would've been quick to wash her hands of this whole 'new organization xiii' business.

she had stuck it out with marluxia for reasons she couldn't quite place. initially, she’d thought it could only be because of shared goal they had. it was more than just that, though. they shared something between them, something far deeper and complex beyond their initial attempt to overthrow xemnas and the fact they were next to each other in the organization’s ranks. it was as if they had known each other before they had been nobodies—but that couldn’t be right, either.

...right?

sora’s voice takes her out of her inner thoughts before she could dwell too much on it, spouting some hopeful nonsense about how she’d have a heart and be complete again. larxene rolls her eyes; he could be far too simple-minded sometimes.   

“but i still don't understand,” he says, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “why'd you follow him?”

the answer to that wasn’t so simple but she wasn’t that keen on spilling her guts to boy wonder and company. it wasn’t any of their business, anyway. 

larxene sighs. what an absolute headache this whole thing has been, and she wasn’t anywhere closer to the answers she’d been looking for. when she was complete again, she’d find the answers herself. it has been rather stupid of her to believe that _xemnas_ , of all people, would actually give her any. 

“i was just along for the ride,” is all she finally says, shrugging slightly. 

sora blinks at her. “with...?”

how cute, thinking that she’d tell _him_  of all people. if larxene ever saw him again—or rather, _when,_ because sora was far too good at being in the right place at the right time for her to not run into him some time in the future—maybe she would tell him. 

 _maybe_.

for now, though? before she fades completely, she gives him a slight smile and raises a finger to her lips. “it’s a secret.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so honestly kh3 made me love larxene more... @ nomura more lore pls

**Author's Note:**

> i finished the game a few days ago and the last parts were so good and made me tear up a little. i’m glad nomura included these farewell scenes bc (1) i’m biased towards org xiii and (2) they made me feel even more sorry for most of them. i want to do most (if not all) but some of them i don’t know if i can tbh (looking at you ymx). we’ll see!!


End file.
